Aftermath
by Starnova1122
Summary: The Wizarding War is over. It was a time to reflect on our past... And build for a better tomorrow. Or it was. But what was it they said? 'Evil spawns absolute, but goodness spawns sentimental.' A new and even greater power than Voldemort has emerged, one that will test not the physical, but the mental resolve of our heroes, Especially Harry. Good thing he has Ginny by his side.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any characters, place names, or content that appears in this story. This story is a fan fiction and does not necessarily comply with the actual Harry Potter timeline. Rated T for romance and violence.**

 **A/N: this is a fan fiction where Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Fred never died. Sorry, I'm a perfectionist.**

Harry Potter say in the armchair in front of the fire, staring into its depths. His eyes were swollen and puffy, which gave him a sleep deprived look. Every inch of him still ached, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. But sleeping doesn't come easy when you're constantly surrounded by fans.

That comes with defeating the most dangerous wizard in history. Girls just seem to find you irresistible. And boys just want your autograph. But purposes notwithstanding, the only reason Harry was alone was because the literal army of fans did not know he was there.

Harry cracked a smile as he imagined all those students: first-years, seventh-years, the lot, all clutching scraps of paper and wandering the corridors of the library, looking for The Boy Who Lived. He chuckled as he recalled to himself that Invisibility Cloaks were good for more than just hiding.

The sounds of their chants seemed to ring in Harry's ears, and he considered using the Half-Blood Prince's _Langlock_ curse on the next fangirl he found shouting in his ear.

Barely had the thought formed in his mind, when a soft voice said, "Harry?"

Harry spun around in the chair, wand in hand, but relaxed immediately when he saw who it was.

"Evening Ginny."

Ginny Weasley smiled at him, but her face was full of concern.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a while," she asked. "I know you want some time alone, but-"

But Harry shook his head and motioned for her to come and sit down. She did, and for a while neither spoke.

Harry felt distinctly awkward together; the memory of their last face-to-face talk, at Dumbledore's funeral, kept intruding on his thoughts. From her expression, it was clear that she was remembering them too. Silence descended on them, until Ginny could stand it no longer.

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"Hmm?" Harry mumbled, looking at her.

"You know. No Voldemort, no Horcruxes, no Death Eaters… What're you gonna do now?"

"Well," Harry thought. "I think I'll try for being an Auror. Yeah… And then, well, I dunno."

"I suppose, being 'The Chosen One', and all that, you would be kinda pre-qualified for the job, huh?"

"It would tend to give me an edge, yes." Said Harry, and both of them laughed.

"In the dating business, yes; have you seen how many fans are out there?"

Both of them roared with laughter.

"Are you kidding me," Harry exclaimed over the laughter. "I don't know what was worse; being chased by angry, murderous, Death Eaters, or fans!"

Shrieks of laughter.

"I knew you would be here, but the only reason we're still alone is because I told them I had definitely seen you in there and that they could not have looked properly." Ginny chuckled.

Laughter ensured. Once it had died down, both of them found themselves staring into the fire again, not saying a word. Harry burned to tell Ginny… To speak to the one person he had wanted to see, ever since Tom Riddle had died…

But Ginny, surprisingly, beat him to it.

"Hey Harry?"

"Hmm?"

Ginny spoke slowly and carefully, knowing this was her one chance and that she could not afford to screw up.

"You remember… Last year, when you told me we couldn't be together, because Voldemort would hunt me down?"

Harry felt his heart thumping somewhere in the region of his lungs, but made an effort to control himself, and just nodded. Did this really mean-?

But Ginny was speaking again.

"Well, he's dead now, so… What you said last year… Does that still… Um… Apply?

She realised how stupid she must sound saying it, and immediately thought, _'damn it Ginny, look what you've done! Now how's he ever going to like you again?'_

But Harry couldn't believe it. He had been hoping in his heart of hearts, if he could talk Ginny into this, and yet, here it was on a silver platter. He tried to control his trembling.

"Voldemort's dead, his Death Eaters flee, why should we not be together?"

Ginny's heart exploded. She launched herself off her seat, and kissed him. Harry kissed her back, as both sides, unbeknownst to one another, thought, _'yes! I did it!'_

A few hours later, Ron and Hermione came wandering around the corner, looking for Harry. The Fat Lady swung forward to admit them without a password, and Hermione climbed in first.

She was glad she did. Sitting in the armchair by the fire, was Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter. They had both fallen asleep, Ginny wrapped in Harry's arms.

Hermione was happy for them, but, knowing what Ron was likely to say, she tried anxiously to block his view of the common room, while saying that he wasn't there, that he had probably gone down to dinner already, and that they should follow suit.


	2. Home

The fact that Harry Potter was going out with Ginny Weasley seemed to attract a great deal of attention throughout the whole school, rather more than it had last year. People seemed to have forgiven Harry for that momentary lapse of brain damage, and assumed that he would be going out with someone a little more popular now that he was… Pretty much the most famous wizard in history now. At the very least, fan girls had stopped dogging his every move, although he did often see them gawping at him when he went anywhere with Ginny.

"Why are you going out with HER?" Shrieked Romilda Vane one day as they walked down to the end of year feast.

Harry did not answer, but Ginny hung her head in shame. They did not speak until they reached the Great Hall, and Ginny said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Harry questioned.

"For this," Ginny answered. "Everyone's laughing at you."

Harry turned to face his girlfriend.

"Ginny," he said solemnly. "There was a period of my life when everyone thought I was attacking Muggle-born's with a giant killer snake. Believe me when I say, I've endured worse."

"But still, if you can avoid it-" Ginny started, but Harry cut her off.

"And, I find this a reasonable price to pay for dating the girl of my dreams."

He hugged her. Ginny did not shake him off, but hugged him back. After a while when they separated, Harry remembered they were due on the Hogwarts Express soon. The two hurried off down the corridor, wanting to eat something before leaving.

An hour later, Harry and Ginny were rushing down the platform of Hogsmeade Station with Ron and Hermione. They all stepped onto the train, and immediately left to find a compartment. Finding a perfect empty carriage, they all deposited their trunks into it, and sat down.

The train ride back to London was long, and pretty soon, they were all running out of ways to entertain themselves.

Hermione had taken out a book, and vanished behind it, while Ron sat beside her, casting anxious glances at his girlfriend every few minutes, and staring blankly into space. Harry and Ginny sat facing each other, just talking; about Quidditch and Muggles and Magic, all sorts of things.

When the train slowed down and the windows showed Platform 9¾, all four jumped out, and the first sight they saw was the Weasleys, waving at them. The Granger's, whom a team of Oblivator's had liberated from the Memory Charm cast upon them by their daughter, were standing a short distance away, mesmerised once more by the sight. The Dursleys alone were absent, but then again, Harry thought, they could be on the other side of the world for all he knew. Hermione hugged Harry, gave Ron a rather fleeting kiss, and departed. When they reached the Weasleys, grabbed Harry in a bone-crushing hug to rival that of Rubeus Hagrid.

"We got Ginny's letter just before the end of year. I'm so glad you're coming to stay!"

"Yeah, and, thank you for doing this. Really."

"Oh, don't worry about that," She said at once. "Now that you're the most famous wizard of all time, I'll bet some people would pay for this opportunity!"

Everyone laughed, and proceeded towards the barrier separating the two worlds. The moment they were through, she said, oblivious to the many people staring at them, "We've already sorted out sleeping. Ginny was **very** specific about it when she wrote to us."

Ron frowned as Ginny blushed a deep shade of scarlet to rival that of her hair.


	3. Witch Weekly

The Burrow was perched in a perfect spot for the morning sun.

Every morning, the rays streamed through the windows, waking everyone inside, and provided light until noon.

One morning, Harry plodded down the stairs to find Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George, already in the kitchen, steaming mugs of coffee in front of them. Harry graciously accepted his own cup from Ginny, and sat down at the table just as a loud screech signalled the arrival of the morning post. Fred and George stood, but drew back as about twenty owls appeared at the window, fighting for a position on the window ledge.

The twins carefully undid the letters, and one by one they took off into the sunlight.

"Let's see," the two said, in perfect unison. "Latest copy of Witch Weekly for Hermione," Hermione took the paper, opened it, and disappeared behind it. "Hogwarts letters for Ron, Hermione and Ginny, and, one… Two… Three… Four… Ah, about fifteen fan letters for Harry."

Harry gave a loud groan and face-planted into his mug as the other five laughed.

Harry sorted through the large pile of letters in front of him, while Ginny, sitting beside him, started opening them for him.

"Here one from some idiot who thinks the whole, _'defeated Voldemort'_ thing is just a hoax and that you should be locked up… God, what a waste of parchment… And here's some crazy woman that… Oh boy, you don't wanna know… And here's from some other fangirl who says she's in love… Honestly, you get so much of this stuff I'd think you were encouraging it!"

"Why would I need to when I have the perfect girl right here?" Harry asked.

"Oi!" Called Ron's voice from across the table, as Ginny blushed, and her brother growled and speared a kipper with unwonted venom.

Hermione, however, had just finished reading the front page of the magazine when she suddenly spat out a mouthful of coffee, most of which went over Ron.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ron! Here, _Teargo_!" The spell syphoned off most of the burning coffee.

Fred, who had picked up the dropped magazine, appeared to have some kind of fit. He just managed to finish reading the first article when he collapsed onto the ground, rolling around and howling with laughter.

"Fred! Come off it, what's up?" George demanded, but Fred only managed to point at Harry before throwing George the article and collapsing in a fresh set of giggles.

George, however, didn't even make it to the end of the parchment, before collapsing onto the ground, tears of laughter falling from his eyes as he pounded the floor with his fists.

Ginny ran over and snatched the magazine from her hysterical brothers. Her eyebrows grew closer and closer together as she thrust the article at Harry, and mumbling something that sounded like, "I hate, I hate, I HATE that women."

The article she was pointing at took up two pages, although most of the first was dominated by a large picture of him, smirking in a most un-Harry-like way. And below, three pictures of broken hearts, with photos of Hermione, Cho Chang, and Romilda Vane in them, alongside one full heart containing a picture of Ginny. The pictures were moving; three of them looked broken-hearted, the forth, slightly nervous.

The article was captioned by large letters saying:

 **Harry Potter: The Cheating One?**

 **By Rita Skeeter, author of the best-selling biography Armando Dippet: Master Or Moron, and The Life And Lies of Albus Dumbledore.**

 _Startling evidence unearthed by Rita Skeeter, journalist, reveals that Harry Potter, (Order of Merlin, First Class) may not have as pure soul as some claim._

 _According to one Pansy Parkinson, fellow student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 'That Harry's moving through girlfriends faster than a blind Kneazle.'_

 _Although Pansy's comment may make little sense, it does not disguise the fact that Harry Potter, currently going out with one Ginevra Weasley, has had several relationships in the past, all of which have ended in catastrophe._

 _As already published by Rita Skeeter, in his fourth year Harry was seen going steady with Hermione Jean Granger, fellow student at Hogwarts. A Muggle-born, Harry is still close friends with this young lady, although close investigation reveals nothing beyond this._

 _'And then he was with Cho Chang for a while, but that didn't even last a whole YEAR,' recounts Romilda Vane, classmate of Harry Potter. 'He must have dropped her somewhere about halfway through the year, because I never saw them together again.'_

 _This has been confirmed: several students have commented on seeing Miss Chang storming away from the young man on several occasions, 'sobbing her eyes out' according to witnesses._

 _'And then there was a period of his sixth year when he was dating me, but, he dropped me after a while during a celebration party held in honour of our winning the Quidditch Cup,' Remembers Romilda._

 _This was also confirmed, this time, with the entire of Gryffindor House as eye-witnesses, as Harry immediately picked up Ginevra, with whom he is now dating._

 _We at Witch Weekly applaud Ginevra's bravery, and hope that, when The Boy Who Lived inevitably dumps her for the 'next big thing,' that she can get over the blow, and choose someone a little more trustworthy than the wizard who defeated Voldemort._

The article ended there, and Harry stared up, to see Ginny, standing next to him, and wearing a strangely amused look. She tugged the magazine out of his hands, and threw it at Ron, before sitting down beside Harry.

"What's all this about, _'dating Romilda?'_ " She asked.

"I didn't," Harry answered truthfully. "She tried to slip me a love potion that year, but that was the only contact I made with her."

Ginny snorted with laughter as, behind her, an outbreak of cackling meant that Ron had finished with the article.


	4. Returning Home

The Hogwarts Express stood gleaming against the morning dew. Ginny took a deep breath of the early morning air, and gazed around the platform. Witches and wizards of all ages were swarming in the dense vapour; Ginny heard crying mothers, snatches of last-minute reminders, greetings and goodbyes.

Ginny, along with Ron and Hermione, dragged their trunks forward, and had just reached the train when Mr and Mrs. Weasley came hurrying through the mist.

"Take care, alright," Mrs. Weasley told her daughter sternly as they hugged. "I don't want another letter home saying you've been… Hypnotised by a diary or… Dragged down into the sewers by a giant snake or…"

Her mother's voice broke off as Ginny kissed her one last time, but she felt sad as she watched Ron saying goodbye to his brothers.

"What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, catching sight of her daughters face.

"I'm fine. I just… I wish Harry were here."

Mrs. Weasley's smile was understanding and kind, as she too wished that he had been able to see them off.

For although Hermione and Ron would be taking a final year as catch-up, as they missed the last one, Harry had already been offered an Auror position, and was simply too busy to be there, or attend a final year of education.

The whistle blew: all around them, the doors of the great gleaming steam engine were slamming closed, and Ginny, with one last fleeting hug from her father, jumped on the train with Ron and Hermione. At once, the door closed behind them, and Ginny saw the train speed up, but continued watching her parents, waving, through the window, until they rounded a bend and out of sight.

Ginny set off down the train with a heavy heart. Though she was happy to be off to Hogwarts, she felt sad at the idea that it would be months before she could see Harry again.

Eventually, she found an empty compartment, and throwing her stuff into the corner of the carriage, she sat down in one of the seats. Ron and Hermione left for prefect duties, leaving her alone.

Hours later, all three sat together in the otherwise empty compartment. Sweet wrappers littered the floor and seats, and Ginny lay stretched across two seats, a half-eaten part-melted Chocolate Frog in her hand, feeling slightly more content. Hermione was leaning against Ron's back, reading a book. Ron was just fast asleep. Ginny had just closed her eyes to try and drop off herself, when she heard Hermione speak.

"Ginny, is that… Is that Hedwig?"

Ginny sat bolt upright in the seats, staring intently at the window. A pearly white blur kept streaking in and out of sight, trying to catch up with the train. Ginny scrambled to the window, and opened it. Immediately, Harry's snowy white owl came soaring in the window, landing gracefully on Ginny's lap, holding out its leg. Pigwidgeon woke up animatly, and began to fly excitedly around the cage, happy at the arrival of an old friend. Ginny peered closely at the owl, and noticed, with a jolt of excitement, a letter, addressed to her, in handwriting she recognised.

As soon as she untied the letter, Hedwig ruffled her feathers, and hopped across the carriage to join Pigwidgeon.

The letter was written in an acid-green ink, and Ginny's stomach lifted when she read what was written there.

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I hope this reaches you before you reach Hogwarts, but never mind if it hasn't._

 _I'm sorry I wasn't there to see you off, but duty called and I had to go. I hoped you would understand._

 _It's lonely here in Grimmauld Place without you. At least Kreacher has had a turn of heart. I hope I can see you soon._

 _Sirius and I have great news for you when you reach Hogwarts. I don't want to tell you now, it'll spoil the surprise. But it's good, trust me on that._

 _I hope I see you soon, but I wanted to say that all my thoughts go with you, and that I really do love you._

 _All my love,_

 _Harry._

All her previous anger at Harry evaporated in a second. She clutched the letter tightly to her chest, whispering words unheard.

Hermione, who had read the letter over Ginny's shoulder, muttered, "Surprise? I wonder what."

But the problem seemed minuscule to Ginny, who clutched the letter tighter to her chest and lay back down on the seats, feeling happier than she had done in hours.

Hours later, the train finally slowed down, and Ginny, Ron, and Hermione joined the crowd of students jousting and scrambling through the dark Hogsmeade station. They heard the familiar cry of, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way! Firs' years over here please!" But it was dark, and they couldn't make out the face of Rubeus Hagrid, and so allowed themselves to be shunted up the winding path.

There stood the giant Hogwarts carriages, all tethered to now-visible Thestrals. Ginny gave a shudder as she stared at them for the first time. She could really understand, now, Harry's constant assurances that they were seriously creepy.

"I suppose everyone can see them now, I mean, we saw Voldemort die, didn't we?" Inquired Hermione, as they cambered into the nearest empty one, which began moving at once.

"And Bellatrix," Ginny added. "I haven't seen my mother so angry since the time Fred and George 'accidentally' demolished part of the house."

Everyone laughed, picturing two very white-faced, identical toddlers standing in the wreckage of The Burrow, trying to explain things to their mother.

As soon as the carriage stopped, all three leapt off, and joined the crowd being ushered into the great hall by Professor Mcgonagall.

As soon as they were inside, Ginny dragged the other two off two the Gryffindor table, all of whom greeted them warmly. Ginny's eyes swept the Great Hall for some sign of the surprise Harry had talked about in his letter. But there was no sign until she heard Hermione gasp and Ron whisper, "No WAY."

Ginny followed his gaze up to the staff table, where her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Sitting at the staff table, on Professor Mcgonagall's immediate right, was no less than Sirius Black.

Ginny's jaw hit the table, as Sirius noticed them and gave them a cheery wave. He beamed at them, who beamed back, but when they looked away, all three faces were filled with confusion.

"What's he doing here?" Hermione asked, while Ron, who had been counting the seats at the table, gasped.

"Blimey! He hasn't-"

But Mcgonagall was getting to her feet, and the room fell silent.

"Good evening, and welcome back to Hogwarts. Before we begin the Sorting, I would like to introduce a change in staff, who would be taking the currently vacated post of Defence Against the Dark Arts, as well as head of Gryffindor house. May I introduce… Professor Sirius Black."

A smattering of applause broke out, though nowhere as loud as the Gryffindor table. Ginny, Ron and Hermione beamed, before clapping until their hands hurt.

Finally, when the room fell silent, and Mcgonagall raised her hands to speak.

"Thank you. Now, Quidditch trials will begin on the-"

But Ginny didn't hear the last of it, and when the feast arrived, she ate quickly, only wanting the feast to be over so she could see the new professor. None too soon, the desserts had vanished, and Professor Mcgonagall was saying, "And now, your lessons begin tomorrow, and your priority is to be well rested for tomorrow. So, off you go!"

With the usual deafening scraping sound, the benches were pushed back, as the herd of students filed along through the door. Ginny, Ron and Hermione, however, immediately started for the staff table, shoving the others out of the way in their hurry.

Sirius was still standing beside the table, staring off into space as though stunned by his own happiness. He spotted them all running towards him, and his face cracked into the widest smile any of them had ever seen.

"Congratulations Siriu- i mean… Professor Black!"

"Thanks Ginny." Sirius said warmly, hugging them all and staring around the Great Hall, glad to be back in such a familiar scene of happiness from his childhood.

He murmured something indistinguishable, and for a moment, he looked sad.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

The illusion was gone as soon as it had come. Sirius glanced back at Ginny, and smiled again.

"I was just remembering what I said to James, the first time I ever came in here."

"What was that?"

"I said, _'One day I'll be up there with them.'_ " He swept his hands around the staff table, and Ginny saw, for a moment, a younger Sirius Black, pointing animatly at the table filled by staff members.

"And then he said, _'Say hello to my kids when you get there, ok?'_ " Sirius said, and he looked sad again.

He sighed, and said, "I wish I could have."

"Sorry, but he's busy saving the Wizarding World from the dark forces of diplomacy." Joked Ron, and all of them laughed, until Sirius glanced at his watch, and jumped.

"Godric, is that the time? You'd better get to bed, all three of you. Goodnight!"

All three of them chorused him goodnight, before trooping off to the Gryffindor tower. After giving the password, ( _Constitution_ ) to the Fat Lady, they bade each other goodnight, and trooped up to their respective dormitories.

Lying on her comfortable four-poster bed, a few minutes later, Ginny resolved to never again judge a book by its cover.


	5. DADA

The next morning, Ginny woke up late.

Stretching, she dressed and headed downstairs, to find Ron and Hermione waiting for her in the common room. After a slightly sleepy 'good morning', they trooped down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Breakfast took longer than usual, but only because of Professor Mcgonagall's descent from the staff table to pass around the timetables. She took extra time on Hermione's, worked through Ron's fairly quickly, and whispered to Ginny, "I thought you three might appreciate the extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons."

Breakfast was as good as ever, and was made even better by the arrival of the post. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls, all different shapes and colours, swooped in through the windows, circling the hall like birds of prey, dropping letters and packages on their owners, before swooping out home. Ginny looked up, more a force of habit than any actual hope of recieving anything, and was therefore surprised when she saw a patch of white against the sea of grey and brown, making right for her. She stared at it for a second, and then, suddenly leaned back as the snowy owl crash-landed into her cornflakes.

Ginny was so surprised by this new arrival that she did not immediately register the huge parcel Hedwig had been carrying.

It was large, and flat. Ginny stared at it, before untying the present from the Owls leg, and opened it.

A small one-person mirror fell out of the wrappings. Ornately carved, and studded with diamonds. Ginny stared at it, confused, until Hermione pointed out a small bit of parchment lodged in the frame. Ginny took it out and opened it.

 _Ginny,_

 _This is a two way mirror. I fixed up my half, and Aberforth gave me the other. Whenever you need to speak to me, just stare into its depths and say my name. I'll appear, and you can talk to me._

 _Love,_

 _Harry._

Excitement rose in Ginny like lava, and after a quick breakfast she hurried up to Griffindor tower. Seating herself in one of the biggest and squishiest armchairs by the fire, she stared at the mirror and said, very clearly, "Harry Potter!"

Nothing happened for a minute or two, before the surface of the mirror became wavy, distorted, moving like ripples on water. Ginny touched the surface, and was surprised to find it cold and smooth, though the mirror was now positively churning. Then, all at once, the surface cleared, to be replaced by what looked like the inside of a large kitchen.

A few seconds later, Ginny realised it was the kitchen at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry's new residence. A while later, she realised she was looking from somewhere on top of the mantelpiece. Just as she had these thoughts, a loud thump, thump, thump brought her attention. Someone was coming down the stairs.

A dark-haired young man entered the room, carrying several sheets of parchment and mumbling to himself. Ginny stared at him for a moment, and then said, "Harry?"

Harry jumped, and dropped the parchment he was carrying. Scrambling to the fireplace, he snatched the mirror up, and at once his face filled the mirror.

"Ginny!" He gasped. "You got my present, I see."

"Yeah," she smiled. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Harry answered. "I wanted to see you, as I missed seeing you off."

"I'm glad," Ginny said, but suddenly became sad. "I missed you."

"Yeah, I know, I'm really sorry. Kingsley was gonna kill me is I wasn't there."

"No, it's okay, you don't need to apologise."

"Thanks Gin- Ginny, shouldn't you be in class by now?"

Ginny leapt out of the armchair.

"I'M LATE! I gotta go Harry!"

"It's okay! Go!" Harry yelled, and pulling out his wand, he tapped the glass. At once, the surface rippled and distorted, until it only reflected Ginny's own reflection.

Ginny grabbed her bag, stuffed the mirror into it, and pelted along the deserted corridors of Hogwarts. Reaching the classroom, she opened the door quickly, and stepped inside.

"Professor Black, I am so sorry I'm late, I just-"

"Quite understandable," said a voice at the front of the classroom. "First period back, and all that. No, we'll forget about it this time. Please take your seat."

Smiling, she made her way to the very front middle of the classroom, in the only vacant seat. When she had sat down, Sirius continued.

"As I was saying, you do not require your books. I wish to speak to you and then we will be having a practical demonstration."

Immediately, everyone in the class seemed to sit up a little straighter, and now hung onto the professors every word. The order 'books away' had never yet been followed by a boring lesson, and none of the class could forget the amazing first class in their third year, when Professor Lupin made them tackle a Boggart.

Sirius started speaking again, apparently keen to capitalise on the moment he had the entire class's attention.

"The Dark Arts," he began, "are a many-varied, ever-changing, enemy. However, that is not to say they cannot be killed. But only in one way. We must train future generations to resist the Dark Arts, and never to embrace it. Then, they must teach their children, and their children's children, and every other generation after that, until the Dark Arts no longer exist."

He paused, and then said, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

Every eye turned to Hermione, who had her hand in the air, and was seemingly bursting to speak.

"So, what you're saying, sir, is that the only way the Dark Arts can be destroyed, is when we wait for the old ones to die, and try to teach the future generations not to use them?"

Sirius smiled, and clapped his hands together.

"Precisely!" He called. "Precisely! Ten points to Gryffindor! Now, if you will stand-" he waved his wand, and immediately, all the tables, chairs and bags zoomed against the wall, leaving a large empty spot in the middle of the room. "We will begin. Who here can tell me the importance of a Shield Charm- oh, but of course you can, Miss Granger?"


	6. New Home

Ginny lay slumped in an armchair in front of the fire. One arm lay draped over the side of the chair, the other was holding a letter, addressed to her, that had arrived earlier that evening.

Although she knew it off by heart, Ginny had been stealing glances at it every few minutes since she had taken up her position in front of the fire. Her head was tilted slightly sideways, her deep, slow breaths indicated that she was in a deep sleep. The letter, clutched in her hand, had been a reply to a letter Ginny had sent to Harry, complaining of the hardships of living in a small house with six brothers, especially during the Christmas holidays.

The letter had read,

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I can understand if you don't want to, but why not stay with me for Christmas?_

 _The house is kinda empty right now, barring Kreacher, and he doesn't really count as company._

 _I can understand if you want to stay with your family, but I was planning on spending Christmas alone, and I would appreciate the company._

 _If you accept, I can pick you up from Hogwarts._

 _Send your reply back, Hedwig will find me._

 _Love,_

 _Harry._

Ginny had sent back her reply immediately, saying she would love to, and she was now waiting in anticipation for that day. Tomorrow was the day everyone not staying at Hogwarts for the holidays would be leaving, and Ginny's trunk lay, packed upstairs on her bed.

A soft tap, tap, tap on the window jerked Ginny awake. She turned in her chair, and felt a huge jolt of excitement as she saw Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, tapping on the window.

In three steps, she had crossed the room at a run and snatched Hedwig up. After untying the small scrap of parchment tyed to Hedwig's leg, she quickly opened it up, while Hedwig flew back through the window and out of sight.

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _Splendid!_

 _Stay at Hogwarts and I'll pick you up tomorrow._

 _See you soon!_

 _Love,_

 _Harry._

Ginny's face lit up as she read his reply. Folding up the letter, she picked up the old one, and headed upstairs to the girls dormitories. Inside, she drew out a small wooden chest from under her bed. Taking out her wand, she slowly beat out a secret combination on the lid, as the chest opened, and a puff of dust welled around her. Inside was a small assortment of old toys, homemade cloth dolls, photos, and other junk.

Carefully tucking both letters into the box, she closed it, locked it with a similar sequence of taps, and chucked it into her trunk, where it joined the assortment of other junk she had piled randomly in.

This done, she changed into her pyjamas, and settled into bed, smiling in anticipation of the day ahead.

Morning came, and Ginny awoke early.

This was the hardest part, lying in bed, waiting for what seemed like hours. Eventually, when she guessed it would be time for breakfast, she dressed and trudged out of the dormitories, down to the Great Hall.

Breakfast was another tough affair. Ginny tried to concentrate on her food, but kept glancing anxiously at the door. She was so preoccupied, she didn't notice Sirius coming up behind her until he whispered in her ear, "There's someone waiting in the Entrance Hall for you."

Ginny jumped, and after hugging Sirius and wishing him a Merry Christmas, she grabbed her trunk and dashed out of the hall.

Upon entering the hall, Ginny stared around anxiously, but the dense crowd of people made it impossible to distinguish the individual person. She heard greetings, snatches of advice, stories, everything, but she couldn't find…

"Ginny!"

Ginny heard him before she saw him. Harry was fighting his way towards her, his smile reaching his ears. (I say 'fighting' for want of a better word. When you're as famous as Harry, the crowd have a way of making way for you.)

Ginny ran for it, and wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him, relishing in the feeling of being in his arms again; and the feel of his lips on hers…

All to soon, Harry surfaced, and hugged her.

"Ginny," He whispered in her ear. "It is so good to see you again!"

"I've been Mirror Calling you daily, you twit." Ginny joked, finally pulling away from him.

"You know what I mean," Harry sighed, and then smiled as he saw Hermione coming towards them, dragging a very sour-looking Ron with her. "And, there they are… Godric, what happened to you Ron? Someone broke your Chess set again?"

Ron wouldn't answer, but his mouth twitched as though he had been about to say something. Hermione edged close to Harry, and whispered in his ear, "He doesn't approve of…" She jerked her head in Ginny's direction, who was tactful enough to pretend to be examining a tapestry on the wall.

Harry nodded, his happiness slipping a few notches, as he thought of Ron's new attitude.

Noticing Ron glaring in his direction, Harry quickly cleared his throat, and said, "Well, I guess we'll be off. Kreacher's got dinner on."

He hugged Hermione, wished her a Merry Christmas, and after a rather strained goodbye process from Ron, Harry and Ginny departed, Harry dragging Ginny's trunk. They had just reached the front doors when they heard Ron yell behind them, "I just don't see why she has to go live with _him_!"

Harry and Ginny walked together until they reached the gates, when Ginny said, "How are we getting there?"

"Hold on," Harry replied, holding out his arm. "Apparition."

Ginny was not altogether content as she gripped Harry's arm. His explanations of the subject was that it was extremely uncomfortable and painful. Harry looked down at her, and said, "Ready?"

Ginny just nodded. Harry smiled down at her for a second, and then looked forward and turned on the spot.

A crushing pain followed. Ginny could not draw breath; she felt as though she was being stretched through a very tight rubber tube. Her grip on Harry's arm seemed just about the only real thing left. Just when she thought she would surely suffocate, her lungs expanded and she found herself standing in a completely different area from where they were before.

Gone was the long, cobbled path leading into Hogsmeade; gone was the tall gates flanked with statues of winged boars; in fact, gone was Hogwarts itself. Now she was standing in a small road, with identical houses stretching as far as the eye could see into the distance. And just in front of them, was the best of them all.

The illusive Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. With a small jerk of her stomach, Ginny realised she had just Apparated for the first time.

"You okay?" Harry asked, seeming completely indifferent to the fact that they had just traveled thousands of miles in the space of a few seconds.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine," Ginny muttered, bending double, clutching her stomach. "But I think I prefer brooms."

Harry threw back his head and roared with laughter, causing Ginny to glare at him.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

"Nothing… Nothing," Harry said, once he had calmed down. "But that's exactly what _I_ said first time I Apparated."

Ginny smiled at this as Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the front door once. Immediately, there was the sound of clanking inside, followed by the grinding of a chain. Then, the door swung open, to reveal Kreacher the House-Elf.

"Master Harry," the Elf said, bowing low. "And he has brought the Weasley girl with him."

"Hello Kreacher," Harry said. "Please take Ginny's luggage up to her room."

"But of course, master." Kreacher took the handle of Ginny's trunk, made his usual low bow, before Disapparating with the usual loud _CRACK_.

Harry led Ginny into the kitchen, where he pulled out two bottles of Butterbeer from the cupboard, handing one to Ginny before uncorking his by magic and downing a large gulp.

As Ginny drank, she stared around the kitchen with awe.

Harry had really done wonders to the place. Gone were the Dark Artifacts and Elf heads, and the insulting paintings, and now, with refurbished walls and proper lighting, the house seemed warm, even inviting, for a house once belonging to a family that forced one to marry their own cousins.

"You removed that painting of ol' then?" Ginny inquired, noticing that for the first time.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Found a counter-charm to the Permanent Sticking Charm this family liked so much."

"Oh really? What's that?"

"Cut out the piece of the wall, and use a Regrowing Charm on the resulting hole in the wall."

Ginny laughed.

"So, we got everything else in the house out that way. Especially those bikini-wearing Muggle posters in Sirius's room!"

Ginny snorted with laughter. "Really?"

Harry was laughing now too.

"That's not the worst of it. Do you know what I found taped on the underside of his desk?"

Ginny inhaled half her Butterbeer up her nose and shrieked with laughter.


	7. Decorations

_To say that Christmas at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was cursed would certainly be an understatement,_ Harry thought as he waved his wand one more time and stood back to admire his handiwork.

Indeed, the dawning Christmas this year was looking cheerful enough, but Harry Potter could not shake off the feeling that something was going to go wrong. The memory of their last Christmas at the place was a definite bad experience, with the tiny detail that Mr. Weasley had been attacked by a giant killer snake while guarding a tiny glass orb that foretold an evil overlord hunting down an innocent family, butchering their friends, and attempting to kill their child.

 _Yeah, not the happiest Christmas_ , Harry remembered. He took one last look at the decorations he had hung up, before deeming them ' _good enough_ ' and leaving the room.

On the way downstairs, he heard shouting downstairs, followed by his girlfriend's voice screaming something. Remembering protocol, he immediately flattened himself against the wall, just as the Weasley twins burst out of the kitchen door, screaming as they pushed past Harry and running for the stairs, ginormous flying bogies at their heels.

Harry entered the room, and was annoyed, but not completely surprised, to find large buntings around the walls, courtesy of the two now attempting to rid themselves of the Bat-Bogey Hex upstairs, which on closer inspection turned out to be shrunken copies of the _Witch Weekly_ article that always caused Harry to attempt to break anything he had his hands on. (And sometimes sick his girlfriend on the person waving it in his face, depending on the person and how much fan mail he had received that morning.)

While Harry Vanished the buntings and Ginny attempted to control her hysterical laughter, Hermione unceremoniously burst her way into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of Firewhiskey, and began to gulp the whole lot.

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, shocked. She wrestled the bottle from her friend, and Hermione collapsed into a chair, fuming.

"Your _brothers_ ," Hermione growled at Ginny, once she had sobered up. "Are at this moment up on the roof, doing some very vulgar things to the house, and any _unsuspecting victims_ that happen to walk past."

Ginny sighed, and left the room. Harry waited in the kitchen, and when Hermione threw a questioning look at him, he simply whispered, "Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…"

Suddenly, there was a loud series of quick thumping on the other side of the door, like a herd of deer were cantering past, as well a several loud bangs and cries of, " _Densaugeo! Entomorphis! Ducklifors!_ YOU GET BACK HERE! _Furnunculus_!"

Several more bangs, and the weird quacking of a duck, and then the door banged open again, as Ginny reentered the kitchen, an amused look on her face.

"So, how'd it go?" Harry asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Four of them are now upstairs, covered in warts and all manner of other things, trying to reverse the spell on the fifth, who is a duck."

Everyone laughed. Harry pulled three bottles of Butterbeer out of the cupboard, and together they drank, savouring this well-deserved break.

Christmas was fast approaching the inhabitants of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, and with Christmas, came the blurred period of decoration and present shopping. Harry and Ginny had been busy trying to make the house look as festive as possible, a hard enough task without the intervention of Ginny's brothers, the extent of which Harry discovered when he left upstairs to remove the ' _decorations_ ' Ginny was talking about.

"And no _snickering_ at that picture on the landing!" Ginny called after him. Chuckling already, Harry strode upstairs, shaking his head.

He stopped quite abruptly when he reached the roof.

Ginny heard them before she saw them. Five sets of hurried footprints heading down the stairs, followed by one of the twins poking his head around the door and saying, very quickly, "Ginny we'll be going now and tell Hermione we're at The Burrow and that-" But he was interrupted by someone screaming just behind him, "GEORGE, HE'S GOT HIS WIND BACK AND HE'S GAINING!" Without another word, George disappeared, followed by Fred, Ron, Bill and Charlie, who was moaning, "Between him and ol' Norberta back at work, _I wish I was in Romania!_ "

When Harry came back into the kitchen, he scowled slightly at the sight of the two girls, rolling on the floor, howling with laughter.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Harry called. "Now let's see if we can't get this place _properly_ cleaned up."

Both girls nodded, and went about their assigned tasks, though none of them could help smiling.


	8. Authors note

**Hi everyone, I am sorry to announce that, not only will I be discontinuing this story, I am permenantly retiring from FanFiction.**

 **I am sorry for any outrage caused on this decision, but it was for a very good reason that I have decided to keep to myself.**

 **So sorry,**

 **Starnova1122.**

 **(Goodbye everyone)**


	9. Announcement

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, it's past the day so I can now tell you, YOU WERE APRIL FOOLS'D!

Im not really retiring! It was just an elaborate April Fools joke!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!

Ok, I'm sorry for being so heartless.

New chapter to follow.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	10. Christmas

_Murder…_

 _Murder…_

 _KILL…_

 _Murder…_

 _Cold…_

 _KIIIIIIIIIIIILL-_

"Harry?"

Harry Potter jerked awake. His whole body was wracked with shivering and sweat. One of his hands was pressed against his face, clutching his forehead. He swallowed, and tried to ignore the burning pain in his scar. His thoughts were interrupted by his hearing returning, and he heard someone banging on his door.

"Harry? Harry open up! Harry?"

Harry sat up on his bed, coughing. He sat for a moment, and crossed the room and opened the door.

His vision was obscured for a moment by a flash of scarlet, but then he heard something hit the floor, and the next minute, lying on his bedroom floor, was the last person he wanted to see.

"Ginny?" He asked meekly. His scar was burning horribly and it was taking all his brainpower not to give in to the pain.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry helped her up, and was shocked to see how terrified she looked.

"N… Nothing…" He tried to say, but Ginny's look changed to exasperation suddenly.

"Harry, please don't lie to me. Tell me it's none of my business, but I know something was wrong. You were screaming in your sleep. And you're covered in sweat!"

Harry swore inside his head, before he sat down on the bed, looking down at his knees. He felt Ginny sit down beside him and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. Harry felt warmth return to his body, and was grateful for the gesture.

"Harry, you can tell me. It's okay."

"I… I heard a voice in my head, again…"

"Like Voldemort's?"

"No… Not like his. Kind of… Cold. And… Low. It made me feel, awful inside. Sort of like what you'd expect Dementors to sound like, you know?"

Ginny placed her head in Harry's shoulder, listening to him. She felt him move his arm, and watched as he absentmindedly rubbed his scar.

"And when I woke up, my scar hurt like hell again."

"Harry… Do you think you could be suffering from shell shock?"

"What?" Harry muttered, raising his head from Ginny's.

"Just a term I picked up from dad. He came home one day, spouting all sorts of rubbish about soldiers and wars and 'gums' and 'Nazis' I think he called them… Anyway, he told me shell shock is this kind of medical condition where soldiers have panic attacks after a war. Apparently it was caused by severe psychological stress from a war. It may just be…"

"No," Said Harry. "It wasn't like that. It was just like my visions of Voldemort back during his uprising, but I can't make any sense of it. I thought it was just him I had a connection with!"

Harry was shaking again; Ginny could feel it. Goosebumps were appearing all over his skin, and his expression was rapidly changing. Fearing another panic attack, Ginny turned his head towards his, and kissed him.

She felt a sudden change in Harry's body; she felt his trembling stop, and could feel a sort of warmth returning to his body as he kissed her back. Eventually, when she came up for air, she hugged him, while whispering in his ear, "we'll worry about that later. Right now, just remember I'll always love you."

Harry smiled, and grasped her tighter.

"I'll always love you too Ginny."

When Ginny let go of him, she smiled, and pulled him to his feet.

"Now, let's go! Christmas, remember?"

Harry had been so caught up in the recent events that he had never given an ounce of thought to what day it was. It was only when Ginny reminded him that he remembered.

"That's right! Christmas!"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Genius, Eye-en-styn." She said sarcastically.

Harry laughed, more at Ginny's miss pronunciation than anything, but he knew better than to correct her.

"I'll assume you picked that up from your father too," Harry remarked as he allowed himself to be led out of the room.

"Yup," she said. "Some Muggle scientist."

When they got downstairs, Ginny saw that the only light came from a lavishly decorated Christmas tree in the living room. Tinsel and ornaments hung from every available branch on the tree, but the stump at the bottom was completely hidden behind a huge pile of presents.

While Harry summoned Kreacher to see about getting breakfast ready, Ginny took a closer look at the tree, especially one ornament in particular.

Glancing back at Harry, she reached up and plucked the star off of the top of the tree. A photo was attached, and with a jolt, Ginny saw herself.

The photo had been taken the day she and Harry had gotten back together. It was in the Gryffindor common room. A fire crackled and popped merrily in the background, while she and Harry stood hand in hand. Ginny was leaning against Harry, her head resting on his shoulder. The picture was moving; both of the figures were waving up at her.

Ginny heard a loud _CRACK_ behind her, and turned, still holding the photograph.

"Bacon and pancakes all right for you gin- oh."

Ginny felt tears form in her eyes as Harry walked over and studied the photo.

"I forgot we had that," he mumbled, a little sadly.

Ginny clutched the photo to her chest.

"Can I keep this? she said, tears on the edge of her eyes.

Harry stared at her for a moment, and then said, "Of course you can."

Ginny kissed him, and then dashed upstairs to her room. In there, she grabbed her Treasure Chest, (which had gotten fairly more full over the course of the holidays anyway) and tucked the photo very carefully away in the spot where it would be most visible. This done, she hurried downstairs, just as a knock on the door signalled the arrival of their guests.

Hermione and Ron were first over the threshold, holding hands and wearing the slightly sleep-deprived look of two people who got up very early in the morning.

Next was Arthur and Molly Weasley, the latter of whom immediately swooped down and pulled both Harry and Ginny into a rib-cracking hug.

Then came Lupin and Tonks, who had changed her hair from the usual bubblegum pink to a festive red changing to green at the ends. Lupin looked less shabby than they had ever seen him, and was holding the lead of a very excited-looking black dog, who immediately leaped into the house and almost knocked Harry over.

Next came Hagrid, who almost broke every bone in Harry's body with his signature hug, and last in line was Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and Percy, four of whom were looking rather nervous and seemed to shrink behind Percy at the sight of Harry and Ginny.

Pretty soon, the party was in full swing. Everyone lounged about, talking, laughing, joking, or unwrapping gifts, and Kreacher dashed in and out of the kitchen, carrying towering plates of snacks and drinks of all kinds, along with a variety of wizard Christmas crackers. Harry and Ginny enjoyed pulling these with Sirius, who took great pride in pulling them in his Animagus form with Harry.

After a few hours, everyone seemed to wind down. Ron was sitting with his brothers, playing with new sets of Wizards Chess; Lupin and Hermione were sitting back-to-back, noses buried in books, similar piles all around them; Molly had disappeared into the kitchen, while Arthur and Hagrid were sitting in a corner, arm in arm, singing 'Odo The Hero' in low voices, piles of empty Firewhiskey bottles all around them.

And Harry, Ginny and Sirius sat in a corner, Harry absentmindedly scratching a sleeping Sirius behind the ears, while Ginny sat, leaning slightly against Harry, reading a brand-new textbook from Sirius, called 'The Temptation Of The Dark Arts'.

Eventually, when everyone deemed it 'late enough', they all trooped out in two's and three's, until the only ones left were Harry, Ginny, Arthur and Hagrid. (who needed several Sobering Charms courtesy of Hermione Granger before they could be moved)

After Ginny had finished ushering her mother out of the door, and ensuring her that she would be back at Hogwarts when term began, she closed the door and turned to see Harry standing in the middle of the lounge.

"I'm surprised you haven't tried to get your present out of me yet," he said, smirking.

"Well, I am a little confused as to why it wasn't with the others," Ginny replied.

Harry pulled something out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

"Here," he said. "I wanted to give this to you earlier, but I wasn't sure how well it would have gone down with your brothers."

Ginny stared at the item in her hand. It was a small box the colour of her hair. Opening it, she gasped and held the item up to the light.

I was a small, perfectly cut heart. It had the initials H.P on one side and G.W on the other. The whole thing seemed to give off a warm glow.

"It's a talisman," Harry said. "Touching it will give you strength and courage, and if you are ever in mortal danger, squeeze it, and think of me. And wherever I am, I'll be able to help you."

Ginny stared at it for a second, before she ran at Harry and flung her arms around him. Resting her head in his shoulder, she whispered, "This is the best gift I have ever gotten. Thank you."

Harry hugged her back, and as he sat down in an armchair, Ginny on his lap, he whispered, "You're welcome."


	11. Blackmail

Harry Potter was bored.

The hand holding up his head slipped a little, and he almost face-planted into the table. Kingsley Shacklebolt had a habit of droning on, and his deep, slow voice seemed to, if anything, make Harry even more drowsy. Coughing silently, he took a drink from the glass of water in front of him just for something to do, just as he heard the name of his department being said.

"-and I can assure you we will have every available Auror standing by for in case the peace talks take a bad turn," Kingsley was saying.

"That's all very well," said a wizard directly opposite Harry. "But what if they take a bad turn? This mysterious blackmailer is getting more and more restless, and I can't let my ambassadors on this case if Curses are going to start flying. Where are we on catching this man?"

"That is for my Head of Auror Department to report," Kingsley said, and immediately, every eye turned on Harry, who choked on the water in his haste to reply.

"Yes," Harry said, once he had swallowed. "I do have every Auror available on the case, but I'm afraid that this man has now sunk to bribing some of my best men."

This remark drew noises of quiet outrage around the table, and one of the wizards actually growled. Kingsley, however, looked thoughtful.

"How much did he offer them?" He asked curiously.

"None," Harry answered, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry?" One of the wizards said.

"We apprehended one of my Aurors whom he had bribed. Under the influence of Veritaserum, he told me that the man had promised to bring back his late wife."

Loud noises of disbelief greeted this report; several of the Wizards scoffed and one of them said, "Rubbish."

Kingsley, however, just looked confused, before saying, "No magic can raise the dead, Mr. Potter."

"I know that," Harry exclaimed, beginning to get seriously agitated. "So just explain how this man is-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Kingsley called, and at once the door opened, to reveal a short blonde woman, wearing a scarlet red dress.

"Valerie, is this important? I'm in a meeting!" Harry called.

"Awfully sorry, Mr. Potter, but this letter arrived for you," she stammered.

Harry stood up, crossed the room and took the letter from his secretary. Immediately, she left and shut the door.

The scroll was tightly bound by a red wax seal. Reseating himself at the table, Harry broke the seal and opened the letter.

 _Harry Potter,_

 _I know that you control the Auror Office. A worthy choice, in my opinion. You have proven, time and again, that you are a mighty and powerful opponent._

 _Thousands flock to your side, Harry Potter, Defender Of The Philosophers Stone, Slayer Of The Mighty Basilisk, Bane Of Dementors Everywhere, Tri-Wizard Tournament Winner, Bearer Of A Thousand Wounds, Survivor Of A Thousand Inferius, and Thrice Defeater Of Lord Voldemort._

 _But you, like me and like everyone else you know, have flaws._

 _You cannot bear to see your friends die. You cannot accept the fact that loss is inevitable._

 _But it is not._

 _You know my bribes. You are dealing with a force more powerful than you or any of your Aurors._

 _And you cannot track it, not with a thousand wizards._

 _And you cannot break it, not with a thousand curses._

 _And you brought it about._

 _One destroyed. One kept, with you, until you perish. One lost, forever._

 _Or is it?_

 _Hear this now, Harry Potter, or perish, like your thousands of others that you love._

 _Call off the search._

 _Recall your Aurors and cancel the bounty on my head. Stop looking for me or worrying about my plans. Server all peace talks with the South African Ministry Of Magic._

 _And give me the Forbidden Forest._

 _Do this now, or I will know. This parchment is Charmed. If you do not do these things at once; of you scoff at me; if you ignore my warnings, I will destroy those that are most precious to you._

 _I am invincible._

 _And I cannot be killed._

The letter ended there, and Harry glanced up.

"Blackmail," he said, anticipating their questions. "Just blackmail."

As he passed the parchment to Kingsley, there was another knock on the door.

"Come in," Kingsley muttered, not looking up from the parchment.

Valerie reentered the room, looking flustered and nervous.

"There is an urgent Floo call awaiting your immediate attention, Mr. Potter, from a Miss Minerva Mcgonagall, Supreme Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and-"

"Yes, yes I know! Tell her I'm in a meeting, I can't talk right now!" Harry grumbled.

"I assure you sir, she said it was urgent, a matter of life and death!"

"Oh god," Harry sighed. Standing up, he addressed Kingsley.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, sir. I have to take this."

Kingsley nodded, gesturing him out the door. As Harry left, Kingsley distinctly heard him mutter, "Bloody old bat probably lost her hair band again."

Harry strode through the corridors of the Ministry, following his secretary, all the while becoming more and more annoyed.

All around him, Wizards waved to him, or shrunk back to avoid him. Eventually, they reached a grate already flaring with green flames. Harry knelt before it, and saw his old headmistress's face in the flames.

He knew immediately something was wrong. Her hair had come down, and was mattered with dust and what looked horribly like blood. Two new scars had appeared on her face, and her mouth was twisted into an absolutely horrified expression. Playing for details, Harry said, "Minerva! Look, I don't mean to be rude but this really isn't the best time. Could you-"

"Potter, we're under attack!" Mcgonagall interrupted.

Harry's blood immediately froze in his veins.

"What?" He whispered.

"We're under attack! Death Eaters! They're HERE! In this school!"

"Minerva-" Harry tried to say, but his speech was interrupted by a loud BOOM sounding throughout the room, shaking the fireplace so much the golden frame actually dislodged and hit the floor with a crash. Minerva hastily glanced behind her, knowing the blast had come from her end.

When she turned back, Harry's expression had changed.

He had leapt to his feet, rising so fast he actually thwacked his head on the underside of the fireplace. Fighting to ignore the pain in his scalp, he yelled, "I'M ON MY WAY!" And sprinted off down the corridor.

Valerie sprinted after him, and had barely caught up to him when he began blaring instructions to her.

"Valerie," he said, very quickly, fast-walking just ahead of his secretary. "Send someone to cover for me in the meeting. Connors will do, send Connors. And then send an urgent owl to the Ministry. Inform them that I'm going away on an urgent law-enforcement emergency to Hogwarts School. Inform them I need reinforcements as soon as possible. Danger Code 2- no, 1. We could have a NATIONAL terrorist problem on our hands. But don't let the Daily Prophet get word of this. And especially not Skeeter. She'll have a field day. Then, send an urgent Floo to my Auror Office- no, wait, that'll take too long-"

Momentarily pausing for breath, Harry grabbed his wand, and, pointing it out the window, yelled, " _Expecto Patronum_!"

A large silver stag burst out of the end of Harry's wand. Without missing a beat, it soared through the air and out the nearby window.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Is there… Anything else?"

Harry paused, contemplating for a minute, before turning to her with a very wierd expression on his face.

"Yes," he said slowly. "Send a memo to… Arthur Weasley."

"Weasley, sir?"

"Arthur Weasley, recently promoted to Head Of Misuse Of Muggle Artifacts Office. Tell him that Hogwarts is under attack, and to rustle up the 'old crew'. He'll know what you're talking about."

With that, having reached the Atrium, Harry Potter bade goodbye to his secretary, and vanished in a swirl of robes.

As soon as Harry arrived on scene, he knew the situation was much worse than he thought.

The grand and glorious castle that had, for so little time, been repaired, was in flames again. Fire licked the walls as debri and plaster fell from every corner of the school. Thankfully, however, bursts of light from inside the smashed windows indicated that all resistance had not, yet, crumbled.

Suddenly, several bright white bursts of light behind him signalled the arrival of his backup.

What surprised him was several loud cries, followed by several scuffling sounds behind him. Turning, he saw two of his Aurors attempting to restrain a third, who was struggling in their grip.

"My son!" He gasped, writhing and kicking. "My son is in there! My son-"

"I know, Gareth. We all have people we love-" Harry's voice caught in his thought as he spoke, "in there. But we don't have much time. So, Karen, Joel, you two are leaders. Divide up the troops and re-capture the school. Karen, take the West Wing, Joel, the East. We'll meet in the middle. Dutch, Sev, come with me. Protect the students, and form a school-wide evacuation. This isn't about the Death Eaters; it's about the students. Well? You heard me! MOVE IT!"

As soon as Harry had finished, the assortment of Witches and Wizards in grey robes nodded solemnly, and went about organisation. Two at the back, one male, one female, began to shout everyone into position, while two bald wizards made straight for him. He once again faced the school, grabbed the two outstretched hands reaching for him, and turned on the spot, into the cold, compressing darkness.


	12. The Battle Of Hogwarts: Part II

Minerva Mcgonagall only just saw Harry leave before a second loud BOOM from behind sent her spinning backwards through the fireplace.

She was just a split second too late.

She only just managed to emerge from the fireplace and stand up, when with a loud crash, the only door out from her office exploded inwards. Minerva went flying backwards, her wand slipping from her grasp and landing a short distance away as its owner came to an abrupt stop on the opposite wall.

A masked and hooded Death Eater crossed the threshold. He took in the office for a split second; and it's only other occupant slumped unconscious against the stone, and smiled beneath his mask. This would be _too easy_.

" _Avada_ -"

Suddenly, three pearly white blurs soared in through the smashed window, where they landed in front of the unconscious headmistress, before solidifying into three figures, wands at the ready. The whole ordeal took about a second, and before the Death Eater could react let alone complete the curse, all three raised their wands and shouted as one, " _Stupefy_!" The Death Eater was lifted off his feet by the triple spell; and for the tiniest fraction of a second he hung, unsupported, before being blasted backwards and out of the doorway.

The men wasted no time. Two of them, who had flanked the third, ran to the doorway, and cast two Shield Charms on the doorway, and Durability Charms on the walls to be safe.

The third, who had a pair of glasses, magically reinforced and stuck to his head, moved immediately to the unconscious witch slumped against the wall.

" _Rennervate_ ," he muttered, pointing his wand at her chest. At once, there was a flash of red light; the woman gasped and opened her eyes.

"Harry!" She gasped at once, as he pulled her to her feet.

"Minerva! What's going on?"

"Harry, I don't know! We were just in the middle of lessons, and suddenly, they were everywhere!"

"Great," Harry muttered. "Have they taken hostages? Student casualties?"

"None," Minerva breathed and Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief. "Some of the older students are fighting, and we managed to evacuate some of the younger students."

"Okay, Minerva, calm down, calm down. I've brought reinforcements. Order Of The Phoenix on their way."

"Harry, go and help the Defense. I'll be there soon."

Harry nodded, and started towards the door. However, at the door he turned, fear showing in every corner of his face.

"Minerva…" He croaked. "Ginny-"

But Mcgonagall just shook her head. Harry hung his, and with one last goodbye, he was gone.

Harry's escort was gone when he reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, but several unconscious Death Eaters lay in heaps on the ground. Harry permitted himself a smile, before thundering off down the corridor.

He had barely turned a corner when, with an ear-splitting smash, a large window beside him exploded inwards. Shards of glass rained down on him, as he forced himself clear, and then immediately glanced out of the gaping hole.

Here, he had a clear view of the courtyard. Duellers wove and ducked everywhere he looked, as masked and unmasked Death Eaters duelled Hogwarts students and Aurors alike. But although Harry's eyes scanned the courtyard, there was no sign of his friends; no Ron, no Hermione, no Neville…

No Ginny…

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a series of loud bangs coming from behind him, and turned to see a sight that was both welcoming and terrifying.

Hermione Granger had just backed into view, her wand whipping and twirling with the speed of an acrobat as she blocked Curse after Curse being thrown at her by a pair of masked Death Eaters.

Harry reacted without conscious thought. Drawing his wand, he ran into the fray, launching a Stunning Spell at the leftmost Death Eater that missed by an inch. The man turned, screamed, "POTTER!" And with a swipe of his wand began to duel. Hermione took advantage of the momentary confusion to aim a Full Body-Bind Curse at his partner, but the man just blocked the Curse and launched himself into a duel.

Bursts of light of all colours popped and crackled as the four duelled side-by-side… And neither seemed able to finish the other…

"Aaaah!"

Harry turned on the spot to see Hermione's wand fly high, dark against the fire; and both Death Eaters aimed Killing Curses at their momentarily distracted enemies…

"NOT MY GODSON YOU DON'T!"

"HERMIONE!"

All of a sudden, there were two brilliant bursts of light from around the corner, and the two Death Eaters flew across the hall. One of them hit the stone wall on the opposite side of the room and crumpled against it; his partner, however, actually smashed through the window, falling hundreds of feet to his death.

Around the corner, at a run, came Ron Weasley and Sirius Black. The former immediately ran to Hermione and enveloped her, while Sirius made straight for Harry, and hugged his godson.

"Harry!"

"Sirius!"

Ron looked none the worse for wear, having shed his old Hogwarts robes he didn't look like he had been in much of a fight.

Hermione, however, looked awful, dust congealing in her hair, her face stained with blood and dirt.

Sirius looked the worst, rather more like he had been ravaged than an Inferius than just been teaching a class five minutes ago. However, he still smiled with that same demented smile he had every time he had a battle.

A loud set of footprints sent the four turning on their heels; but all they saw was a group of unmasked Death Eaters fleeing through a side corridor. They took no notice of the four, but continued running as, with a shout that seemed like music to Harry's ears, he saw the other Weasley brothers; Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and Percy, pursuing the group. Fred noticed them, but kept running as he screamed, "Harry! Nice of you to drop by! Sorry about the mess, though, we only just got around to cleaning!"

And with this sarcastic remark finished he cantered off in the dust after his brothers, Ron hot on his heels.

With no time to lose, Harry turned to the others.

"Guys, have you seen Ginny?"

"She was protecting a group of first-year Ravenclaws over by the Defence classroom when those two started chasing me," Hermione breathed, waving a hand at the unconscious body of the Death Eater. "I haven't heard from her since."

"Harry," Sirius said quickly, "Harry, I'm sure she's okay-"

But Harry had already sped off in the dust, following the corridors the Weasley boys had come through just a second before. Sirius contemplated for a split second, before racing off after his godson. If that boy was anything like James, then he would need Sirius to stop him from doing something totally reckless and suicidal for a girl.

Harry rounded a corner, and stopped dead.

The passage to the Defence classroom was completely clogged with duellers. The first people he saw were Lavender Brown and Cho Chang, his ex-girlfriend. Behind them was Dean, fighting back-to-back with Seamus, and shortly further still Harry saw Rubeus Hagrid pinning Walden Macnair to the floor with one hand, while repeatedly pummelling him with his other. As he passed, Harry distinctly heard Hagrid growling, " _This- is- for- Beaky- you- monster_!"

In fact, all around him Harry saw his old classmates; he saw Luna Lovegood with her father, both of whom were waving and dancing all over the place, sending spells in all directions, seemingly oblivious to the amount of chaos around them; and Horace Slughorn; and innumerable Aurors, all weaving and ducking through the duellers, wanting to attack and yet to protect...

And then Harry saw Ginny.

She stood at the very end of the corridor, and Harry's relief turned to horror as he realised she was in way over her head.

So engrossed with the two Death Eaters she was fighting, she had failed to notice two more stalking up behind her…

Harry didn't think twice. Pulling his wand out from under his cloak as he ran, he sprinted straight into the duellers; straight into the middle of the network of shimmering spells flying everywhere…

He saw one of his Aurors thrown to the floor by a hooded Death Eater, but before he could finish the job he buckled, hit by Harry's silent Petrification Curse.

Suddenly, Harry felt something hit him in the back so hard he was positive he had been cursed. But whatever it was curled its arms around his body and rugby-tackled him into the ground. Harry's nostrils were assaulted with the smell of sweat, blood, and dirt all rolled into one; and suddenly Harry knew who he was fighting…

And Fenrir Greyback rolled onto Harry's stomach and linked his hands around his throat, as Harry began to choke…

Suddenly, Harry felt the claws pierce his neck, and then release him. Next moment, he felt the werewolf leap off him entirely and bound away into the battle. And Harry, clawing for his wand, thought for a split second he had been spared…

But then he saw the werewolf had only found a better target.

"GINNY!"

With all the strength of an Auror, Harry snatched his wand and leapt into the fray.

But he knew, instinctively, that it was too late, as the werewolf leapt for his girlfriend…

Forsaking his wand entirely, he leapt into the air and caught Greyback around the middle. He felt the werewolf tense, immediately unaware that something completely unexpected had happened…

Before the pair crashed into the stone wall on the other side of the corridor.

Now, on the one hand, Harry had done just about the most gallant thing he could, and saved his girlfriend from being eaten.

That was good.

On the other hand, he now had a mad half-werewolf clawing at his throat.

That was bad.

However, as we all know, stories like this have a way of working out, and this story is no different. Greyback's hands had just found Harry's throat, when with a loud smash, a long thin creeper burst in through the wall. Before Greyback could cry out, or even muster the slightest bit of resistance, the vine had looped itself happily around his waist, and hurled him back the way it had come; back out the window. There was one last scream, and he was gone, leaving only a trail of blood behind him.

"Harry!"

Harry spun around just as, without warning, he saw Ginny leap at him. Harry reacted instinctively, dropping his wand and grabbing her around the waist as she pulled his face to hers, pressing her lips to his firmly…

"Oi! Harry! Take your own advice, there's a war going on here!"

Harry and Ginny broke apart as Ron and Hermione, along with Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Lee Jordan thundered past, wands drawn as they fired curses a random at a group of Death Eaters in full retreat. Harry addressed Ginny.

"What happened?" He called over the loud roaring in the courtyard.

"You tell me," Ginny called back, ducking behind a large slab of rock as a green shimmering glow passed straight over her head. "We were just in our classes when, BAM, they were everywhere!"

"Great," Harry muttered. "What happened to the Ravenclaws you were protecting?"

"Gone," she gasped. "Got them to safety. Only people left in the castle are either fighting for our side or target practise."

Harry laughed at Ginny's joke as several Aurors cantered past, wands held high. One of them called to Harry as he ran, "Sir, the courtyard!"

"Right, Taker. I'm coming," Harry called after him, and then quickly hauled Ginny to her feet.

"Come on," he yelled. "The battle awaits!"

By the time Harry and Ginny arrived, the situation was deteriorating fast.

Death Eaters were visible here, there, literally everywhere, firing curses seemingly at random at the defenders. The Order Of The Phoenix had joined the fight now; he saw Remus and Tonks fighting side-by-side, and Sirius blasting away at the enemy, screaming several things I certainly couldn't print, and Mad-Eye-Moody, limping his way through the duellers, screaming things like, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" and "DEATH EATERS IN OUR MIDST!"

Harry's eyes swept the scene, because as far as he could see, he was still missing Neville, Dean, Seamus…

He made up his mind, and turning on the spot, he made for the greenhouses. He heard Ginny break off from behind him, and knew she was joining the fight already flourishing in the castle;

Suddenly, two things happened at once.

First, the huge double doors to the castle burst open, and the remaining fighters, both Death Eaters and Hogwartians, streamed out into the courtyard, before rushing to help their own side.

Second, there was a massive roar, and the greenhouses burst alight, with flames licking the glass walls, toasting the plants inside…

"Neville…"

Harry sunk to his knees, watching the greenhouses roar as the fire overtook them entirely…

But he squinted as he saw…

The fire parted in one corner of the greenhouses and Neville Longbottom came sprinting towards him, arms full of several pots containing Venomous Tentacula, and wearing a slightly panicked expression.

"The Mandrakes," he called when he reached him. "All of them! They'll have been burnt to cinders, poor things…"

"Yeah, Neville, that's terrible, but you wanna spare a thought for the DEATH EATERS NOW RIPPING UP THE CASTLE AND KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE?!"

"Right," Neville said, looking sheepish. "Sorry, uh… _Decario Venomari_!"

At a wave of Neville's wand, the Tentacula in his arms leapt to the ground, where they promptly grew three times their size and snaked their tendrils into the midst of the fighting.

With all his friends accounted for, Harry drew his wand, leapt past a Death Eater being strangled by a Tentacula creeper, and launched himself into the combat…

The Battle Of Hogwarts: Part II, had begun.


End file.
